I am going to repeat a phrase so that after finishing this article, one truth will be evident and remembered. A beautiful landscape remains beautiful in direct proportion to the correct maintenance it receives. As a landscape contractor, we go to a lot of effort to design and install a landscape that is unique, colorful and welcoming, which takes time and money. Through the years, I have revisited the homes we have finished, and typically the landscapes look good to the untrained eye but are falling short of their potential. Our clients are not knowledgeable enough and/or too busy to address it properly. Unfortunately, while hardworking the typical maintenance mow and blow crews lack sufficient knowledge of ornamental horticulture to address the issues. All the plants are pruned the same, at times cutting off the forming buds, and watered the same, regardless of sun or shade, i.e. generic maintenance instead of beautiful landscape. (more…)

In this continuation of April’s article I am emphasizing “survival tactics” for stage 3 water restrictions; stage 3 being defined as the restriction of watering landscapes to two days a week. Currently, at the time I am writing in mid-April, I believe only the City of Folsom has imposed these limitations. The other municipalities are on voluntary water conservation, setting a goal of 20% to 25% less water usage per end user. So what happens if a mandatory water restriction occurs, is your landscape prepared for it? (more…)

In the last issue we focused on “Survival Tactics” for Fescue lawns, which is the most commonly used lawn variety in Northern California, there fore it was important to discuss ways to protect it during water restrictions. If you have not read last month’s editorial, please go to www. HomeImprovementMagazine.com. In February and March I wrote about what makes a great landscape, and in April I talked about keeping beautiful landscapes beautiful. This month I want to introduce two new lawns, and by the time we are finished making the comparisons between them and Fescue, you will have a good understanding as to why I believe these will be the lawns of the future. (more…)

Before we get started, I want to thank everyone for their response to my editorials. I have received many kind comments about the benefits of the topics I have been writing about. For those of you who are new to the magazine, please view my past articles (since February) at www.HomeImprovementMagazine.com on a range of top ics pertaining to proper landscaping, maintenance, and this current series on keeping landscapes green and thriving with less water. This series is especially pertinent because of older communities being retrofitted with water meters (we just had one of the H.O.A’s we maintain con verted over). So in combination with June’s editorial, this information will have the greatest effect on saving water, while still watering well and minimizing run off. It is relatively inexpensive and has immediate benefits. (more…)

Welcome to our fourth and final edition of “Landscape Survival Guide.” In May we discussed how to keep your Fescue lawn green and healthy with less water, by using a combination of Mycorrhizea and Turface. In June we introduced two new lawns, Buffalo Grass and Native Bentgrass, and discussed the water saving benefits, plus the other advantages these lawns have over Fescue; and in July, we spoke about the features of the MP rotor nozzles for lawns, not only because of the water savings, but also its design that allows for better coverage. So if any of these topics interest you, please go to our website at www.executivecareinc.com to read them (prior to this, we did a series on landscaping and maintenance). (more…)

Those of you that have been following our articles know that we just completed a four part series on “Survival Tactics” for the yard. To review, in May we discussed new products to make our Fescue lawns more tolerant of water restrictions, in June the topic was on two new lawns that require twice a week watering once established, July was about new high efficiency nozzles, and in August we covered correct installation of a drip system. Prior to this, correct yard maintenance was discussed in April, and concepts and principles for a beautiful landscape were covered in February and March. March also included a little about my training. These editorials can be found on Executive Care’s website www.executivecareinc.com. (more…)

Welcome to October’s article in the series of “Making the Most of Your Yard.” Last month was the first in a series of three articles in which I wrote on a relatively new concept of water conservation called Rain Water Harvesting. It is a concept that is relatively new to us, but dates back to Biblical days. Its origin and practice is found in the arid regions of the world, such as the Middle East. Those of us that are interested in sustainability, or have property in areas where water is scarce, pricy or prohibited from landscape use will find this concept of much value. If this interests you, and you would like to read the editorial in its entirety, please go to our website (www.executivecareinc.com) or Home Improvement & Remodeling Magazine’s website (www.homeimprovement-magazine.com) and find it there, along with other editorials we have written. The topics range from landscaping advice to proper maintenance. Other topics include new types of lawns, water conserving nozzles, proper drip installations etc. (more…)

Nov 09 – Edible Landscapes

How the month goes by, it seems I was just finishing October’s editorial a couple weeks ago, and now it’s time to focus on November’s. Before we launch into November’s, I have a few comments. I’m sure you can agree that the buzz words of our day are green, sustainability, self sufficiency and reducing carbon footprints; in fact our future jobs (according to economists) will be jobs that have to do with water, organic food and energy. With that in mind, where is landscaping, what role does it play? Well nothing is greener, or aids in reducing man’s carbon footprint more than plants and trees. (more…)

December 2009

Welcome to our Holiday edition. This article is still about landscaping, but not with plants, trees, soil and boulders, but with encouragement, faith, character and truth. Not our physical yards, but the “yards of our soul.” They also need “ tending to;” no different than our physical yards, our souls get “weeds”( attitudes) need “pruning” (character development) and do well with regular fertilizing (love and encouragement) and need light (truth/faith ) to grow and be healthy, to “bloom” with peace and joy, to grow with strength and character. These attributes just don’t come, they need to be cultivated; they need to be practiced. Just like a beautiful and fruitful garden, we need the same care; I want to talk about that care in this edition, and specifically about character and faith. (more…)

Thank you for wanting to know more; a hungry soul seeks to be satisfied, a searching soul seeks answers, and an empty soul seeks fulfillment. The LORD is all of this, and more. He is able to nourish our souls, answer our questions, and fulfill us with His presence. There are some foundational truths we must understand first. Many times we come to GOD because we are hurting, fearful, struggling etc., our jobs could be in danger, our marriages and our relationships could be on the edge, or our kids are making wrong choices. We could have suffered the loss of a loved one, just been told we have cancer or that a love one has only months to live etc. There are many things that affect us, weaken us and cause us to think about The LORD (GOD and LORD are synonymus). (more…)